This past week has been our last week of summer vacation since we plan to start our homeschool year on Tuesday, the day after Labor Day. Many of our friends have already started school for this year, but neither one of us were ready to start quite yet.
Here is what we will be using this year:
- Exploring Creation with General Science – I was able to find an older edition for $10! Kelsey is looking forward to the many experiments in this book.
- What on Earth Can I Do? – I went through the previous three books in this series with both kids and have been waiting for this fourth book!
- Mystery of History II – This will be our second time through this one. I will be assigning different activities for Kelsey this time through.
- Artistic Pursuits – Matthew went through a couple of these and I still had them on hand, wondering if Kelsey might like to try them.
- Language Lessons for the Secondary Child – These books fit well with our homeschool style
- Write with World – This is a new addition this year thanks to my friend Kendra for recommending it! I know we have been a little weak with creative writing, but I wanted something that wasn’t so structured and something that would challenge Kelsey in her writing. I am hoping this will be a good fit for us.
- Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra – Another saved from years ago when Matthew was at this point. Unfortunately we have the older version, but we have really enjoyed these books!
- PE – Kelsey really enjoys using our Wii Fit for her exercising, so she will be working in at least 3 mornings a week to her schedule.
- Drama – This is the big new addition to our schedule this year! From mid-September until almost the end of March, we will be driving out of town once a week for a 2-3 hour drama class. Kelsey is really exciting about this! The class will be learning the ins and outs of what it takes to put on a performance, as well as a Bible devotion at the beginning of each class and learning to stick to your Christian principles if they continue down this path. They will be performing ‘The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe’ in the spring.
At this point, the plan is for me to go through ‘What on Earth Can I Do?’ and ‘Mystery of History’ with Kelsey, the other subjects and books, she will be working through on her own. We will probably sit down together on Tuesday and ‘plan out’ how much work she should do each week. This is one of the benefits of having an older student, they start taking on more of the responsibilities of setting their schedule and making time to get their work done.
Are you ready for your homeschool year?