Halfway Through Our First Week

This week we finished up an epic week of Vacation Bible School, Andy got a new job, and we started school.  Phew!  It makes me tired just listing it out like that!  But all in all, I think we’re doing ok.  Laundry is caught up, dinner is planned, Jojo’s only stopped up the toilet once.

Here are the curriculum resources that we’ve settled on:

• Queen Language Lessons for both the 3rd & 1st grader–a gentle approach to language arts to supplement all our read-alouds.  Mabel also will continue working through Print-to-Cursive Proverbs.
• Miquon math–again, very gentle introduction to math.  I’ve got a Curriculum Choice review coming later this month.
• For American history we are using picture books from the library and supplementing with The Children’s Encyclopedia of American History. Following Melissa Wiley’s lead, I’ve created an American history bookshelf that holds all the history books.  The kids love to browse the shelf for naptime reading.  They were the tiniest bit scandalized to find Tom Sawyer and The Wizard of Oz on the American history shelf!  Oh this is going to be a great year!  One new aspect of our history study is map work ala Mary Prather.  It’s been a wonderful addition.  Highly recommended.
• Science is nature study with resources from The Handbook of Nature Study blog.  Barb is such a treasure!  Subscribe to receive her monthly nature walks newsletter.  We’ll also be setting up a bird feeding station outside of a window and recording the daily temperature in our almanacs.

Of course, there’s art and life skills and books a plenty that aren’t on this list.  But it’s a start! Has school started for the Michaelmas term in your neck of the woods?