"In spite of everything I shall rise again ..."

"I felt my energy revive, and said to myself, 

In spite of everything I shall rise again: 

I will take up my pencil, 

which I have forsaken in my great discouragement, 

and I will go on with my drawing."

-Vincent Van Gogh, Letter #136 to Theo (1880)

The past four months have been complicated and difficult for our family.  At the beginning of January, we got news from AC's company that they would be looking into the cost of moving us to the UK for a year or two, and AC was instructed to begin handing off some of his responsibilities in the US, to travel a couple of weeks each month to the UK, and to direct his energy there.  

We were nervous about such a big change, but very excited.  As a family, we began to take steps to prepare ourselves for this large move.  AC and I modified our 10For10 trip #5 in February to include time in London for house hunting, and were able to add me onto a work trip in March using airline miles.  We began to research schools for SC, as we knew it might be easier for her to transition into a new culture if she is able to be around other people more, but we still wanted to find one that allowed her to continue being herself, and focused more on whole life learning.  We asked our good friends if they would be willing to live at our home and take care of our three cats, as they are a bit older, and we knew we would be living in a much smaller space.  

We also took our family dog, Rexy, to get a check-up at the vet, because we would be bringing him along.   He had been having breathing problems for a while (noisy breathing), which in the past we had been told was caused by a soft palate issue, and it would need a quick, cosmetic fix.  Our local veterinarian office had recently brought in a new doctor, and she was very worried when she looked at our pup.  She told us that his breathing issues were much more serious than we had been told, and she could see him turning blue as he got excited and breathed heavy.  She suspected that he had a bit of a collapsing trachea, which is apparently very common in small dog breeds, and ordered a fancy x-ray called a fluoroscope, that takes moving images.  The fluoroscope confirmed that his trachea is collapsing, and not just a bit.  It was collapsing to almost completely closed from the top of his neck, all the way down into his rib cage 2-3 inches.  

We were sent to a surgeon who has performed many successful fixes for this problem, but because of our dog's age (8 years old), the success rate would be much lower.  Also lowering the success rate was the fact that the surgeon would not be able to get to the part inside his rib cage to fix it.  However, after examining him and viewing the scan footage, she expressed deep concern that he would make it even the next few months without having a procedure done to attempt to alleviate his breathing issues.  We chose to have surgical rings inserted on the exterior of the trachea, because the long-term success rate of those seemed to be higher, rather than an interior stint, which would build up scar tissue over the course of a year, and either need to be re-done, or cause irreparable damage.  

The surgery went well, though the surgeon mentioned afterwards that things were much worse once she got inside, and she was shocked that he had lived with such a large area of his trachea collapsing for as long as he did.  We took him home, contained him so that he would not pull anything while running around, gave him all the medicines to help get him healed quickly, and just loved on him.  After two weeks of recovery, AC and I had to go out of town for our 10For10 #5 trip, to London and Paris.  We left our pup at a great boarding facility, and knew they would take as good care of him as if he were at home with us.

Unfortunately, the Sunday night before we were to come home, we were awakened by a call from the boarding facility that Rexy had stopped eating, and his behavior had changed dramatically.  They took him to the emergency vet (which is, luckily, attached to the surgery center), and he was having serious problems breathing.  After an x-ray, it was determined that one of the rings had cracked, and was causing tracheal collapse again.  However, because of the place he was in recovery, his body was not responding well to the level of sedation needed to fix or replace the ring.  He had a breathing tube in, but was only ok with the lightest level of sedation.  Each time the doctor attempted to take him deeper, his vitals would tank.  In the end, AC and I had to make the most difficult decision in our marriage to date, and from thousands of miles away.  After talking to multiple doctors, including the surgeon, the option to attempt to extend his life had too low of a success rate, and could have gone wrong in an extremely traumatic way for Rex.  AC and I have previously discussed quality-of-life issues, specifically with regard to ourselves/each other, and we decided we needed to make the most unselfish decision in this case, as we would if it were one of us struggling with life.  

When we returned home two days later, we had to go through the terrible process of explaining to SC what had happened.  She had known that there was a risk involved with the surgery, and that his healing and health were not guaranteed, but it is one thing to explain that possibility to her, and quite another to explain that the dog she has loved all of her almost seven years wouldn't be coming home.  I personally still struggle with little things every day, like hearing the dogs next door bark and him not reacting, or not hearing his collar jingle when I first come into the house.  The worst for me is not feeling his weight on the bed, especially when AC is gone on a business trip.  I never realized how much I counted on Rex to get me through the loneliness that comes with having a traveling spouse.  As cheesy as it is, for me Rexy defined the phrase "man's best friend."

Sadly, the bad news didn't end there.  Just before AC and I were to leave on our next trip to London, where we hoped to begin nailing down housing options, and even pay a deposit on the awesome Montessori school we had found for Sophia, AC had a meeting with his bosses, where they told him that after looking into the company's own policies, it was simply too expensive to send us over there.  After the struggles with the dog, specifically in an attempt to make sure he could come with us, the news that we would not be going to the UK at all was a devastating blow.  To top it off, we had already "paid" for my ticket (through miles), and had made arrangements for SC to stay with my parents for spring break while we were gone, and we didn't want to disappoint any of them.  The trip actually turned out excellently (and became 10For10 trip #6, but more on that in another post), but going into it, both AC and I were not in a happy place.

Things have turned around for us a bit.  Since we weren't going to be moving to the UK, that meant AC wasn't going to have to keep traveling there for weeks each month, and was able to revert back to his one or two days at a time trips within the US.  We cashed in more airline miles to take an impromptu family trip to Whistler, Canada, where AC and I took our honeymoon, and SC got to try skiing for the first time (10For10 trip #7).  It was a much needed true vacation for all of us.

We decided after finding that wonderful Montessori school in London to look around our area for one, because it has been a real struggle for us to keep up with the social needs of SC and get as much academic work done as we all would like.  We have had a hard time fitting in with many of the local groups, so we either spend a lot of time driving around and meeting various friends each day, or we sit at home, all alone, doing schoolwork until it is time to go to SC's different activities in the evening.  Luckily, we found one that will only take 30 minutes each morning to get to, and it seems just as good as the one we liked in London.  It also goes through eighth grade, so if all goes well, we won't have to change schools or figure some other option out until it is time for high school.

Finally, we decided to go forward with our pre-UK plan, to move a little bit east toward both AC's office and the airport.  Initially we were going to look to move this summer, but as we were watching the action on Zillow every weekend, we stumbled upon a new housing development less than three miles from my sister-in-law, closer to AC's office, but not so close that we wouldn't be able to reasonably get to SC's current activities that are near where we live now.  We were not planning to build new, mostly because the new developments available in the areas we were looking were way out of our price range, but then this new development popped up recently, and it is exactly what we were having trouble finding in an older home.  We are all very excited, though our finish date won't be until early 2016.

So, that is what has been happing with us these past few months.  Even though we will not be homeschooling in the near future, I will hopefully still find time to blog and share what has been going on with us as we continue on the journey toward the wisdom spoken of in Proverbs 2.

2014/15: Year 2"... study hard what interests you the most ..."

“...study hard what interests you the most 

in the most undisciplined, irreverent and original manner possible.” 

― Richard P. Feynman

I know I mentioned before that I was renaming the years from K/1/2 etc. to "Year 1," with this being "Year 2,"  but when we did our back-to-homechool pictures this week, I still but "1st" on there.  That being said, today was our "first day," but we spent it at the Dallas Arboretum and then the Perot Museum to catch the end of the "Largest Dinosaurs" exhibit before it moves on.  

So, tomorrow will be our first day with our new "Year 2" schedule and curriculum.  We are heading to DisneyWorld in mid-September, so our first two weeks will be a bit lighter, with the project-based subjects like history, science, and writing/literature not starting until after we get back.  When we return, our schedule will be 8am-2:30pm on Mondays - Thursdays, with a few quick things like a spelling test and some different, challenging math on Friday mornings before piano lessons, with the afternoon free for field trips, meet up with friends, or just hanging out and free time.

We put some of the subjects on the back-burner last year (or took them much slower) as we adapted to life, as I wrote about before, so some of what we are doing this year I had originally planned for Year 1.  However, most of what I had planned for Year 1 was at least "1st grade" level, so I am not worried about it being "too easy" for this year.  In fact, while SC is advanced in understanding-type subjects, things like penmanship are still on target for her age, which meant working ahead in some things means either I did most of the writing for her, or we adapted (or in the case of some stuff, we held off for this year).  In the end, here is a look at the curriculum I have planned for Year 2:


LANGUAGE ARTS:

Language Smarts level B (finish)
Language Smarts level C
Jacob's Ladder Primary 1 (finish)
Jacob's Ladder Primary 2
Vocabu-Lit level B
SpellWell levels A and AA
Explode the Code (various levels to reinforce phonics, not necessarily to teach reading)
Handwriting Without Tears
Reading Detective Beginning
BraveWriter - Jot it Down
  *We are doing a fairy tale project all year that came from the Bravewriter book Jot It Down, where we will be reading and studying ten separate fairy tales from Perrault, Andersen and the Grimm brothers
BraveWriter - Arrow
  *The BraveWriter "Arrow" program is technically for 3rd grade, but we will be reading books on SC's level and modifying the dictation portions into copywork and more manageable amounts for her physical writing ability.  We will not be following their choice plan for this year, as I was able to choose individual books from past years.  Our list is:
        Sarah, Plain and Tall  by Patricia MacLachlan
        Turtle in Paradise  by Jennifer M. Holm
        The Lemonade War  by Jaqueline Davies
        Charlotte's Web  by E.B. White
        Because of Winn-Dixie  by Kate DiCamillo
        Henry Huggins  by Beverly Cleary
        Detectives in Togas  by Henry Winterfeld
        In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson  by Bette Bao Lord
        Harriet the Spy  by Louise Fitzhugh
        All-of-a-Kind Family  by Sydney Taylor


HISTORY:

History Odyssey Ancients (finish)
History Odyssey Middle Ages (begin)


MATH:

Singapore Primary Mathematics 1B (finish)
Singapore Primary Mathematics 2A
Zacarro's Primary Grade Challenge Math (begin)
Mathematical Reasoning level B (finish)
Mathematical Reasoning level C
various logic books from Critical Thinking Company and others


SCIENCE:

Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding K-2 (begin)


SPANISH:

Song School Spanish (finish)
Sabio Octavio grammar, math and reading/spelling


BIBLE:

Telling God's Story Year 1 (finish)
Telling God's Story Year 2


ART/MUSIC/PHYSICAL ED:
Meet the Masters
piano lessons, Broadway class at the local theatre, swimming, gymnastics and soccer, plus we got a subscription to a local symphony for the year and are very excited to be able to take SC to these concerts

Also, part of the BraveWriter "lifestyle" is experiencing the stories of life through nature hikes, poetry tea parties, listening to all kinds of music, watching movies, ballets, operas, stage performances, and then being able to understand the narrative and retell the stories in your own words.  This is one of the reasons I chose BraveWriter, as it encompasses so much of what else we will already be doing.

I hope everyone is off to a great start to their 2014/15 year, whether in their homeschool or in school away from home!

"Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible."

"Without deviation from the norm, 

progress is not possible."

-Frank Zappa

According to the typical school calendar, our first year of homeschooling "for real," and SC's kindergarten year, should be almost over.  Yet, after all this time, we will do school through the summer, with a few adjustments for the water park and other summer activities.  See, we have only been keeping a "regular" school schedule (like the one I laid out here, though not really) for just over a month.  Though kindergarten technically started at the beginning of September, after the first few weeks of struggle (during which I absented from blogging), I forced myself to adapt so that school wasn't such a miserable experience for both of us.  

On top of starting school that "counts," SC was also dealing with AC's travel becoming more frequent as well as less structured, which resulted in outbursts of anger and an attempt by her to survive through control.  We dropped back to only going to her twice-a-week private kindergarten, which was normal for her, and worked on the homework they sent home.  We spent time going to the local science museum, and signed her up for a few classes there.  We met other homeschoolers for park days and field trips.  We listened to a large number of audiobooks, and spent hours at the various local libraries.  We watched PBS Great Performances stage shows, ballets and operas.  We baked together, and had tea parties, and discussed the arts.  Plus, we traveled with AC when we could, including spending two weeks this spring in London and Belgium.  We had a wonderful "school" year.

However, we still needed to get a real routine going for school.  Much of the past year has been up to SC with regard to what she wanted and when she wanted, which isn't real life.  Eventually there will come a point where it may not be best for her to be homeschooled, either because I cannot keep up with her (like in math or science), or because the services offered by the district we happen to be living in at the time can do as good a job at teaching her on her level.  We are aware of at least two local districts that have full-time gifted programs, and while we don't live in one of them currently, moving isn't out of the realm of possibilities for our future.

So, when we returned from our European vacation, SC and I sat down and talked about school.  We talked about the things that had to be in our daily schedule (math, language arts, handwriting practice, spelling), we talked about the additional things she would like to do (Spanish, history, art, breaks), and we worked together to plan out a schedule that worked for both of us.  

The first few days were a bit tough to really get into the schedule, but now I am excited for the next stage of school, over the summer.  I am also really excited that we will be done with the private kindergarten, because it is opening up our schedule so that we are not having to cram things in.  We are looking at potential extra-curricular activities for the fall, like a Broadway class that teaches acting, dancing and singing, and maybe a class at the local zoo.  So many of the local museums and places that offer after-school activities now offer classes during the day for homeschoolers, which means we don't have to be out late into the evening trying to get things done.

Finally, for the time being I have decided that instead of calling this year "kindergarten" and next "first grade," which is the way the US public schools do things, I will just call this "Year 1," and the next "Year 2," and so on.  The work that SC has been doing, even the work she has been doing at the private kinder class, is at least on the first grade level, so to call it "kindergarten" is a fairly large misnomer.  For organizational purposes, it just makes more sense to call this "Year 1," and I will be changing the labeling on the blog.

I hope to get back to writing blog posts at least weekly, because I love to write and I have missed it.  I am not going to work to write posts just for weekly "link-up parties," though I may join if the content fits.  Also, I want to continue writing the What 2 Read Wednesday posts, because I enjoy writing book reviews.  I want to get back to this blog being a refuge for me, rather than the chore it had become, and hopefully others may be able to take something from it as well.

"If there is no struggle, there is no progress."

"If there is no struggle, there is no progress."
-Frederick Douglass, "West India Emancipation," 1857

As I sat down to type out this post, wrapping up our first week of kindergarten homeschool, I couldn't think of anything positive to say.  I got through three paragraphs of drama, and decided to just delete it.  We have had a REALLY bad week.  There has been a lot of explaining "why" school is mandatory from k-12, a lot of fighting/arguing, a lot of tears (from both SC and I), and I am just drained, both emotionally and physically.  

We only made it through 1/3 of our schedule for the week, and that bothers me to no end.  However, I still have hope that things will get better.  Much of the arguing has given me some real insight into how SC's brain works (and why there have been such major bumps in this road), and though things might have to go on a bit differently than I had originally anticipated, I still have hope that this will work out.  I keep coming back to the fact that God has led AC and I to choose this as the best choice for her this year.  Cliche, I know, but as Jeremiah 29:11 states "‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope."  There is a reason He has led us down this path for now.   

So, I really didn't want to look back on our first week a few months, or even years, from now and read how horrible it has all been, even if we eventually stop homeschooling.  I don't need to rehash the gory details (and they are, believe me).  I do want to remember it has been hard, but so is any major change.  And I want to publicly remind myself to be faithful to Him who knows the plan, and not lose hope.

"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, 
so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
Romans 15:13 

"There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full."

"There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full."

Henry Kissinger, quoted in The New York Times Magazine, June 1969

We are only one week away from our official first day of kindergarten, and I have been working on lesson plans and making sure I have a schedule that (1) will fit in everything comfortably, and (2) is doable.  A few weeks ago I thought I had the schedule down, but then SC met a new friend whom we really want to spend time with weekly, so I adjusted everything and was able to clear an entire afternoon.  

I am linking up this post for the final week with iHomeschool Network's "Not Back to School" Blog Hop, and while it is supposed to be a post that details a "day in the life" at our homeschool, since we won't actually be starting until next week, I will instead be focusing on what the ideal week would look like, based on my latest version of the schedule.  On this year's curriculum post, I mentioned the times I had planned, but did not go into any detail about what specifically we will be doing during those times.  So, here is what I hope things will look like during our upcoming days.

Monday, Wednesday and Fridays will look very similar in the mornings, as will Tuesdays and Thursdays.  SC will be going to a "bridge" kindergarten twice a week at the same church she has been at for the past few years for Mother's Day Out.  I just cannot compete with the monthly themed activities.  Every weekday SC will need to complete one activity from A Reason for Handwriting level A, as well as a few pages from Explode the Code for phonics reinforcement.  This will happen in the evenings, before free time is allowed.  

M/W/F

7:00-8:00am:  Wake up, walk the dog, eat breakfast

8:00-8:10am:  Warm-Up [either listening activity or short reading passage/questions]

8:10-8:40am:  Bible

8:40-9:00am:  All About Spelling OR All About Reading [I have two separate sessions set up each day for AAR/AAR, but I am going to try to do them simultaneously, so some days we may do two sessions of AAS (NOT two lessons, but I have planned for much reviewing), or two AAR, or one of each.]

9:00-9:30am:  Junior Great Books [language arts]

9:30-9:50am:  Grammar [Language Smarts B]

9:50-10:30am:  Math [Singapore]

10:30-11:10am:  History

11:10-11:30am:  All About Spelling OR All About Reading

11:30am-12:00pm:  Spanish

12:00-12:30pm:  LUNCH

Mondays, after lunch, we will be traveling to a friend's house, and be listening to an audiobook on the way.  We also have gymnastics in the evening.

Wednesdays we will use Draw.Write.Now for some art instruction, combined with writing instruction (that I create - not handwriting).  Then we will hopefully meet some of our homeschool group at the park before heading to a short 30 minute dance class.

Fridays we will do some brief logic work before heading to piano lessons, and then have the afternoon free for a possible field trip to the zoo, one of the local museums, or more time with friends.

T/R

7:00-8:00am:  Wake up, walk the dog, eat breakfast

8:00-8:10am:  Warm-Up [either listening activity or short reading passage/questions]

8:10-8:50am:  Jacob's Ladder [language arts]

9:30am-2:30pm: away from home kindergarten class

2:30-3:10pm: listen to audiobook in the car on the way to afternoon activities (T: swim, R: dance)

Tuesday evenings SC will also have soccer practice (and I will be coaching for the first time).

Finally, as mentioned on the curriculum post, we will be doing a few homeschool activities Saturday morning, so that we can keep our afternoons mostly free for friends, park days and field trips.  

Sat

7:00-9:00am:  Wake-up, walk the dog, eat breakfast (we won't have a hard wake-up time)

9:00-9:50am: Science

9:50-10:20am: Math [Life of Fred]

10:20-10:50am:  Grammar [Grammar-land and Primary Language Lessons]

10:50-11:50am: Teatime and classical music to relax from all our hard work!

Throughout the school-week, SC will have the opportunity to earn free time, which will include watching taped PBS shows, using the computer to play games (usually pbskids.org), playing on the iPad or other electronic devices, as well as just playing with the multitude of toys we have.  However, she will have a checklist that she needs to complete some of first, during that free time period.  Here is an example of the checklist I have made:

I am hoping that this will be a baby-step in teaching her to prioritize tasks and how to manage her time.  We shall see how it works.

So, that is an ideal "day in the life" at our homeschool.  Don't forget to check back at the end of the first week of September to see how things actually went.  

What do your school days look like?  Leave a comment below, then check out all the other bloggers' posts at the iHomeschool Network 5th annual "Not Back to School" Blog Hop.

"... and he only holds the key to his own secret." [Not Quite] First Day of School Pictures 2013/2014

"It is not for you to choose what he shall know, what he shall do. 

It is chosen and foreordained, and he only holds the key to his own secret."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Education," Lectures and Biographical Sketches

Though we will not start homeschool until the first week of September, I managed to get SC bathed in the morning (rather than the evening) and her hair fixed, and the weather wasn't too hot, so we took some time to take a few commemorative photos for the start of her kindergarten year.  So, here are our [Not Quite] First Day of School Pictures for 2013/2014.

Have you taken your yearly "back to school" photos yet?  Let me know how it went below, and then check out some other 2013/2014 pictures at the 5th Annual "Not Back to School" Blog Hop:

"The only tolerable state is having just written." Happy 1st Blogiversary!

“It's hell writing and it's hell not writing. 

The only tolerable state is having just written.”

-Robert Hass

Today marks the first "blogiversary" of Proverbs 2 Pursuit :: Wisdom.  As I look back on the last year and some of the posts I have made, I realize that I have grown in ways I did not expect.  Initially, the goal of this blog was to focus on my breakdown and learning about education, specifically as it relates to SC, and to chronicle our baby steps into homeschooling.  However, though we have done some of this, it has also been a place to talk about struggles with SC, to share the blessings God has bestowed upon our family, and a place to hash out what being a parent to SC really should look like, considering the uniqueness God created within her.  

I love what the blog has become, and while when I first started I was consumed with posting regularly in blog hops and getting my voice out there, I am much less stressed if I miss an "appointment," because I just don't have anything of quality to contribute that day.  I am okay if I don't post for a week because we were busy, or on vacation, or if my post is mostly pictures, or a brief bit of thankfulness.  I think over the past year, the blog has become less about "having a blog" and more a representation of me and our life, which is exactly what I want it to be.

So, in looking back today (which is Top Ten Tuesday), I wanted to highlight ten of my most-read/commented-upon posts, and I hope you enjoy them.

1. "Most people would walk along a path beside the river."

2. Thankful Thursday: 

"How Not to Have to [Wash] the Dishes"

3. Top Ten Tuesday:
PBS Kids Shows

4. Top Ten Tuesday:
"Home is home, though it be never so homely."

5. Top Ten Tuesday:
"Books and movies are like apples and oranges."

6. 2013-2014: K5/1st Curriculum:
"Look what a lot of things there are to learn..."

7. What 2 Read Wednesday:
"She was expecting something empowering."
Book Review: What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank
stories by Nathan Englander

8. What 2 Read Wednesday:
"is the fleeting jolt of meaning that art gives us valuable?"
Book Review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

9. "...come to this hallowed place/ Where my friends' portraits hang and look thereon..."

10. "Once you learn to read, you will be forever free."

Which of these posts was your favorite to read, or is it one that I have not listed?  Leave a comment below, then check out some other Top Ten Tuesday posts here:

"...And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started..." Our School Room 2013

We shall not cease from exploration 

And the end of all our exploring 

Will be to arrive where we started 

And know the place for the first time. 

     T.S. Eliot, "Little Gidding," Four Quartets

We are quickly approaching the start of our first "official" homeschool year, and that means we spent some time starting to get our school room organized.  However, we still have a lot to do (as you will see from the pictures).

We have an actual school room, which used to be the dining room we never dined in.  We converted it to an office a couple of years ago, and it has been a great space for us to do school in (albeit sporadically up to this point).  However, there are a few drawbacks to this room.  

First, one whole side is open to the entry way, which means there are only 3 walls of open space. Second, one of the other walls is mostly covered by the front window.

 So I have my desk up against part of this wall, and it sticks out over part of the window. We also have boxes of papers, a file box that I was using last year to keep SC's schoolwork in, and some other things that need to be gone through sitting in front of the window.  On the wall are my and AC's college diplomas, and that is pretty much all that fits in the little space on either side of the window.

The other drawbacks to this room are self-created, as I have covered the back wall and other side wall with bookshelves, which were mostly full before we moved school into the room, and are very full now.

We purchased a mobile stand-up whiteboard/bulletin board last year, and while expensive, it has been something we use daily for school.  Last year we had it as a separator between the room and the entry way, but it really was in the way of the front door, so I moved it in front of some of the bookshelves that are just holding all my old college books, and it is much more user friendly there.

SC has a little desk in the middle of the room, and we started using an exercise ball at the end of last spring, though right now the desk is covered with her summer art projects and supplies, and I have no idea where the ball went.

I have one bookshelf dedicated to the things we will be using this year, and it is mostly full, so I have no idea how I will organize for next year (because I tend to keep EVERYTHING).

I have a few shelves dedicated to art supplies, some of which are purposely out of SC's reach, and some that she has easy access to.  I also have some of last year's curriculum, my graduate work books, and all the books and notebooks from my one year of teaching mixed in.

Finally, I got some Command picture clips and turned our pantry doors into a calendar and artwork display area.  I started doing that last spring after I turned the whiteboard so the bulletin board side was not viewable 100% of the time, but I was using tape.  I got tired of going through so much tape, and honestly, I didn't want tape on some of SC's art that I want to save, so this is the solution I have come up with.

I really like these clips, and they are very easy to use.

So, I still have quite a bit of organizing to do; mostly just going through the things that have piled up, finding a place for them, cleaning off my desk and finding a place for all that stuff, but you should have seen it a few days ago.  The floor was littered with paper that SC had taken out and cut up, there were stacks of mail on her desk from when we were out of town that I had just dumped in a box to go through later.  I had MORE bags from Target/Hobby Lobby/Michaels/Mardel of supplies to start this year.  I had all of the curriculum I had purchased in a box on the floor in the living room.  I still have a few weeks before we start our year (the first week of September), so I am not worried!

Where do you do school (or homework) at your house?  Leave a comment, then check out other homeschool rooms at the 5th Annual "Not Back To School" Blog Hop.

**This post contains affiliate links.  Please read my disclosure statement.

2013-2014: K5/1st "Look what a lot of things there are to learn..."

"You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then — to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the only thing for you. Look what a lot of things there are to learn..."

T.H. White, The Once and Future King

So we really would fall into the "eclectic unschooler" category of homeschoolers going by how things have happened this past year for Pre-K/K4.  If you remember our great plans, I will tell you now we did not complete even half of them.  Some of this was due to SC racing past where the curriculum was in math, necessitating a change mid-year, and some of this was because some of the choices were just too much for her at four.  Also, I did not strictly enforce the routine I had set up at the beginning of the year and allowed lazy mornings that moved into chores, playtime and errands, and then forgotten lessons for weeks at a time.  We also did quite a bit of traveling, which I feel is hugely important at SC's age, but I think I could have handled it better rather than completely eschewing school.  On the bright side, SC hasn't suffered from a very relaxed Pre-K/K4 year and testing has shown she is still years ahead in both math and reading.  In fact, she seems to just absorb information as she goes along.

This year, though I love the lazy time we get to spend together, we have to step up the routine a little.  I honestly think SC would manage some of her meltdowns (one day I will post about these) a bit better if we had a more routine schedule, and I am really excited about doing kindergarten with her this year (though much of what we will be doing is solidly 1st grade).  She is very excited, too, and keeps eyeing the box (see picture above) I have keept everything corralled in as I work on the plans.  By the way, in case you think I am nuts, not everything in that box will be completed this year, but in some cases is was cheaper overall to buy a "package" than just what we might complete this year.

Also, SC will be continuing to attend the preschool she was at as they have added a twice-per-week "bridge" kindergarten class.  Though academically she will be past most of what they are learning, the experiences (like "book character day" and other themed days) cannot be replicated well in a one-child home (in my opinion), and there are some things that she will learn (like the Pledge of Allegiance) that I probably wouldn't think to teach if going at it solely on my own.  In the future I may have to get one of those books that lists out things like this.  So, that means, our homeschooling schedule for the fall currently looks like this:

M: 8am - 12pm
T: 8am-9am
W: 8am - 1pm (including lunch break)
R: 8am-8am
F: 8am - 12pm
Sa: 9am - 11am

I could probably cram everything into M/W/F but I wanted to leave time for us to go on field trips and have park days, so AC and I agreed Saturday morning would be an okay time to get some schooling in.  I have also purposely scheduled science for Saturday morning so AC can do it with us.  I have also added one language arts activity on T/R mornings before our out-of-the-home kindergarten class.

Finally, without further ado, here are our plans for K5/1st:

BIBLE

After a friend posted a link to Telling God's Story, I knew I had found the perfect study for our family.  From Olive Branch Books' website, the program is described as one that "treats the Bible as a unified, exciting, true story with Jesus as the most important character."  YES!  This is my problem with story-based or thematic studies, because I feel they minimize Jesus and what Jesus did.  They are important to the Bible, but only when the Bible is taken as a whole, with the climax of the story being Jesus.  If you are at all interested in this, author Peter Enns writes a Parents' Guide that is a quick, easy read that describes the program and how he will follow the classical education model in developing this twelve-year study.  The first year of the study, which is what we will be doing, is focused on "Meeting Jesus," and what a wonderful place to start when telling God's story.

LANGUAGE ARTS

Since this is a "real" school year (though still not actually required by the state of Texas), I wanted to find something more than just a mix of random handwriting and phonics programs with a few read-alouds thrown in.  Though math seems to really be SC's thing, mine is reading and literature.  I am really excited that I heard about the Junior Great Books  "Read-Aloud" curriculum.  Even thought it is typically used in a group setting (which may pose a problem if we stick with it in later years), I think it will be a good, easy introduction for SC into some great literature (short stories and poetry), as well as the process of discussing what is read.  We will spread out the lessons so that each story takes two weeks, and do the "Sailing Ship Series" during the fall and the "Dragon Series" next spring, and then move along to the other two "Read-Aloud" series next year.

To go along with this I have also found a program from the Center for Gifted Education called Jacob's Ladder, which (at this level) takes picture book stories and helps guide kids through "ladders" of reading comprehension.  I am sort-of doubling up between this and the Junior Great Books when it comes to reading, but each program has its own areas of strength, and the reading choices in Jacob's Ladder are such that as SC develops her reading skills she may be able to read the selections on her own and then work through the comprehension.

Finally, though SC has tested at the level of someone 6.8 years in reading, she still struggles when it comes to sounding out new words and will typically just shrug her shoulders in hopes that I or AC will just tell her the word, which she then commits to memory.  This year, in an attempt to give her the tools to boost her reading confidence, we are going to be trying All About Reading Level 1.  I am actually pretty excited about this program too, as I have heard great things about it.

We will supplement when we feel like it with Explode the Code because SC likes it, but it won't be something I schedule into our regular schedule.

To go along with All About Reading we will also be using All About Spelling Level 1, though I am still unsure how to schedule these together.  I have read that some people start AAR and then later start AAS, but others seem to do them simultaneously.

We are still working slowly on A Reason for Handwriting level A, though that is due more to the fact that it is something to be done five days per week and we have only been schooling three days (when we stick to a schedule at all) rather than SC not wanting to or lacking the fine motor skills.  In fact, she writes daily when she makes "cards" for AC and I, or doing other schoolwork.  We will continue level A this fall (and hope we can get it done daily) and then move on to level B when we get there.

Another thing we will add in is some time working on writing, and specifically creating a narrative.  I saw WriteShop Primary at the Homeschool Book Fair, but there was just so much extra stuff that wasn't really writing that I decided against it.  So, I am sort-of modifying the Draw-Write-Now program to take the pictures, allowing SC to draw them as part of her "publication" (as well as practice following precise instructions), but then using that picture to create a story.  We will start by just copying the "handwriting" portion, and then build on that, brainstorming characters, plot, and making sure there is a beginning, middle and end.  We did the first lesson this summer as a trial and SC kept asking to get back to "Happy Mrs. Chicken."

Finally, as SC has been manipulating words and loves that they have classifications, I have decided to add in some light grammar once a week.  We will be reading Grammar-Land, the first third of Primary Language Lessons, and using the Critical Thinking Company's Language Smarts level B as a supplement.  I don't expect 100% mastery in this area, but I think she will enjoy it.



For our current list of prospective read-aloud books, check out this late summer post.

HISTORY

We started using the History Odyssey "Ancients" Level 1 last fall and I absolutely loved it.  However, it was just too much work for SC, and I really wasn't prepared to do all the activities  (and how much time it was taking) last year.  This year, I have planned three forty-minute sessions during the week, which should be ample time to complete everything.  We will probably start back at the beginning, as we only made it to week three last fall before shelving it.



MATH

We started Singapore Primary Mathematics level 1A at the end of last spring when we realized Math-U-See was not a good fit, and my hope over the summer was that we would be ready to start 1B for this fall.  However, we have been having a fun summer, and though we have done some math, we are not ready for 1B yet.  So, we will finish 1A first and then start on 1B.  However, I must say that this program is working very well with us and where SC refused to use the manipulatives to do the work for Math-U-See, she loves the other ways that are taught in Singapore (like using a number line).  We have also purchased some magnetic foam counters to use on the whiteboard and she has to come up and move them around to "show" me what she has been learning.  They have been a wonderful purchase!

We will be doing more of the Challenging Word Problems book, which we have not really touched, along with Process Skills in Problem Solving level 1.  We will also be starting up Life of Fred Apples, reading one lesson per week for "fun."

We will continue to work on Lollipop Logic books, plus Connections: Activities for Deductive Thinking once per week.

SCIENCE

Last year I bought Apologia's Exploring Creation with Astronomy to try, and it was just too demanding for SC, even using the Junior Notebooking Journal.  We shelved it before we even finished the first week (when it asked for her to create a mnemonic phrase to memorize the order of the planets).  I still think it will be a bit much for her this year, but I discovered a set of "change" themed units by the Center for Gifted Education that are K-1 level and look perfect.  There are three units of twelve lessons each, which will be perfect for our year.  First we will do Survive and Thrive, which covers life science; then we will do Water Works, which covers physical science; finally we will finish up with How the Sun Makes Our Day, the Earth science unit.  Hopefully this will be a good transition into the Apologia Astronomy next year.  Also, we did get a membership to the Perot Museum, and have many field trips planned for this year already, as well as to the nearby zoo.

SPANISH

I hope you aren't reading this and wondering what happened to our learning French last year.  Needless to say, I definitely over-scheduled what would work for a four-year-old.  We have decided to switch to Spanish, however, instead of just trying again with the French sitting on the shelf, because SC has really noticed that there are quite a few people in Texas who speak Spanish and wants to learn it.  At the Homeschool Book Fair I came across the SongSchool Spanish program and it looked like a fun introduction to the language.  Coupled with Muzzy DVDs from the library, some books of coloring pages and other printables, flashcards, Oh, Noah! and Salsa on the computer, hopefully we will be set for success.

MUSIC / PHYSICAL EDUCATION / ART

SC started piano lessons last fall, but struggled with "waiting for the other kids to catch up" because she picked up what the instructor was teaching so quickly.  We tried moving to private lessons, but it was with a new instructor who just could not handle SC and her mobility.  After waiting all through the spring semester for the original instructor to still not have space, she recommended another teacher and this one is very good with SC.  We went for a few trial lessons over the summer and are now waiting expectantly for lessons to start back up at the end of August.

For physical education, SC will be attending gymnastics, swimming lessons (her favorite), and dance class twice per week.  I am also trying to institute a "walk-the-dog" ritual in the morning (more for my physical education than hers), but it won't happen until it is no longer over 100 degrees!

While we will not be doing formal "art" instruction this year, our Bible program includes many art history studies/projects, as does the History Odyssey program.  She will be creating art with the Draw.Write.Now books to accompany her writing, as well as at other random times throughout our weeks for her own personal reason (she likes to make cards for people).  Also, I have a number of Dover coloring books that cover the history of art and some of the "great" artists, and we will utilize these in conjunction with various other subjects and read-alouds.

I realize this seems like quite a bit, but it really does fit into the schedule outlined above (I will do a more thorough post in a couple of weeks as to what our days will actually look like).  The only thing I haven't included here are the audiobooks (read-alouds) that we will be doing thrice a week, but I have written a separate post about that.  We are also going to finish off our week on Saturday mornings by having a traditional British elevenses and listening to some classical music.

What does your new school year look like?  Have you used any of these programs, and did you love them/hate them?  Leave a comment and let me know!

I am also linking up with the 5th Annual "Not Back-to-School" Blog Hop from iHomeschool Network.