Hello! It’s been a minute since I’ve been on here! Life has gotten away from me… So much has happened and I’m not sure where to start or what exactly to update on…
Let’s talk about homeschool since it’s actually in the name of the blog. I have enjoyed having the summer off and this week have started getting organized for the coming year. Pictured above is our letter of intent for the superintendent, my organizational forms from Pam Barnhill (more on her below), and my favorite verse reminding me that God did not give me a spirit of Fear.
But this week, we have been doing placement tests for different curriculum that is used by our co-op so in the future we will be familiar with it and ready to rock and roll! We are switching from Staff and Rod Math to Saxon — which I feel is a pretty easy transition. They seem very similar and Saxon is what is used in our public schools (in which T was a part of for 4 years before homeschool) so I think it will work well for us.
We went to our Academics co-op parent meeting and learned about some new techniques and ways they are implementing Language Arts teaching. I was super intrigued and found out what books they are using and plan on trying it at home. T has ADHD and Dyslexia so I don’t want to put him in a class where he will have to perform beyond his capabilities however, I am excited to see how this works for us. I know that everything new and shiny doesn’t mean it works but this came with some pretty high praise from other moms at the meeting so I’m feeling hopeful. This is our first year with the co-op classes (not in the organization, just in the academics portion) so we signed up for a history class and a leadership class. We are on a waiting list for a science class, however NOT having that class could be God’s protection and not giving us more than we can handle starting off.
We are focusing this year on unit studies. Even though our main math focus will be with Saxon and our main history focus will be with the co-op we will have some math and history in the unit studies as well; along with science, reading, writing, spelling, and other integrated classes. T has requested that our first unit be philosophy. I am at the very beginning of planning that unit. I’m thinking of doing a study of ancient philosophers for the first half of the unit and modern philosophers to finish the unit.
Okay… now… some resources that have really helped me get organized and going over the past couple of years that I’d like to share with you….
When I very first started homeschooling, a good friend highly recommended this community and I absolutely LOVE it! Pam has a class called Put your Homeschool on Autopilot and it is a game changer! When you click this link there is more info and once you buy it, you have lifetime access… I bought it last year, and this year have been using the printables and what refreshers I need. She has a WONDERFUL free community that I also highly value. It’s full of great advice, resources, and so much more!
Something else that has really helped, that isn’t even homeschool related… but has helped enough that I’m going to share… This is a clean and natural caffeine boost. I absolutely LOVE coffee. I own a coffee shop and love everything about coffee culture. My doctors (3 of them) have told me to cut back on coffee and caffeine and I have done so, however I’m not ready to give it up 100% yet. I have found that 1/2 cup of coffee (for the sheer yumminess) and then THIS for the caffeine kick, focus, brain boost really gets me going. (Click the picture and then choose the product out of the list)
I plan on starting our school year on August 12 which also happens to be the first day of Academics and the day after our Disney trip! Wish us luck!
When are you starting? What are you excited to try this year? What are you continuing this year? What are you ready to leave behind this year? Fill me in!