Weekly Wrap Up -

We still haven't "Officially" started school yet. We are still easing into things, and although this week was pretty much a wash since I worked triple what I usually do, it wasn't completely un-productive just low-key...

Xan-
Started reading Call of the Wild and using this http://www.teachercreated.com/products/a-guide-for-using-the-call-of-the-wild-in-the-classroom-0446 study guide. I don't usually use a lot of study guides for literature, but this is a fun one with lots of interesting things for him to do independently while I am at work. I still have him do a written narration and picture for each chapter, and as we get back into things I am having to remind him, "It's just like when we do Writing With Ease- Three or four sentences of what the chapter was about." He's getting it though.

Continued on in Life of Fred. I really like this book, and Xan does too. I am not comfortable making it a complete curriculum, but it's a great intro into the school year and we can use it on our "relaxed" day, when school starts.

Began a little Space unit study. The science book I chose for this year didn't include Space so I am supplementing it with an old Prentice Hall book I found at the used book store and a Thames & Kosmos Exploring Space kit.

I will be using a lot of textbooks this year as an experiment. In my heart and mind I want to be a Classical WalMasonSorri homeschooler, but I am not sure the whole books approach works for my kids. Or, at least works for my kids with me as the teacher, if that makes sense. I am still using whole, living books with the texts as spines so I am hoping the combination will work for all of us.

That's about it for Xan. Next week I'll fold in some writing and have him begin reading Story of the World V3.

Leena-

My social butterfly is still continuing on in The Lively Art of Writing and How to Study in College. Both of these will lay the foundation for the upcoming year. The hardest part has been for me to keep up with the reading. It's a good thing I used Lively Art for myself so I've got notes all over my copy that I use to discuss with her. She also started Vocabu-lit K and likes that there are only 10 words to work with a week.

She's had softball practice twice this week and an asthma attack to boot. It hit 109 degrees here and the air quality was AWFUL. I think the coaches were hoping it would be cooler since it was late in the evening, but it wasn't. That's the way it is here...

Next week, I think I will have her start reading Feed and start the SAT prep book to sharpen up her math skills.

And that's all she wrote...

Gearing Up...

I'm not making the attempt to just jump back into school this year. I am using the next few weeks as kind of a "test run" as the kids call it. This week we go back to early wake up calls, no t.v., computer, video games or phones during the day, early bed times...you know, all the stuff that sucks the fun right out of summer. It's a good thing too, as one of us did have a little meltdown and required an hour hike to put things in perspective. The kids have started slowly easing back into using their brains-Xan has started Life of Fred Fractions, which he is loving, and he's done some reading and Dover coloring books. Leena has started The Lively Art of Writing and How to Study for College. Things are looking good and moving in the right direction.

Putting Things In Perpsective...