Back to School

Monday was our first day back to school and I have to say, it really was a great day. Our family seems to thrive on schedule and routine and we get so much more done when that order is in place. I guess it forces us to be disciplined! Maybe that's why we can get MORE done when we are in school than when we are out. It makes me wonder how I filled my time without classes! We have a very full year ahead of us - Holly is in 10th, MaKenna is in 9th and Caleb is in 4th. They each have lots going on and are excited about the new year - well, the girls are! They have been wanting to get back to a regular schedule for about a month now, but I wasn't ready. How weird is that? Caleb, on the other hand, wanted to know why we couldn't just wait until after Christmas! It was hard for him to start the day after his birthday, too - presents had to be left un-played with until school was over!

I am not sure who may read this and be interested, but here is the lowdown on what we are doing this year - just in case you are! Maybe we are doing similar things and can share stories!

Holly ~

Apologia Exploring Creation through Biology
The Joy of Womanhood (Bible)
Far Above Rubies
Notgrass American History
Writeshop
Piano
PE
Sign Language
Driver's Ed on FLVS
Math U See Geometry
American Literature
Home Ec.

MaKenna ~

Apologia Exploring Creation w/ General Science
The Joy of Womanhood
Far Above Rubies
Notgrass World History
Writeshop Family Tree
Violin
PE
Sign Language
Computing for College and Careers on FLVS
Math U See Algebra 1
World Literature
Home Ec.

Caleb ~

Florida State History
Simply Stated
Math U See Gamma
Pathways Readers
Learning Language Arts Through Lit.
Writeshop Primary
Italic Handwriting
How Your Body Works
Exploring Creation with Astronomy
Various Phonics books
Miller's Stories
Bible
Character Building

I think that is all, but there could be others that I am missing and these may change as the year goes on - you never know! Ah, the beauty of homeschooling - being able to adjust to what works and doesn't work as you go while helping each child develop their personal strengths and interests. As I read back over the lists, I realized, wow, that sounds like a lot! But, some of them overlap each other or won't take the whole year, so we can spread them out. Plus, we only do what we can each day.

When I think of the verse "Train up a child in the way he should go..." I wonder if that is more than just Biblically and spiritually speaking. Maybe it also means to help them find the will of God for their lives - based on their unique personalities and talents - and then enable them to pursue those things. Hmmmm... Seems like, in the end, that will matter more than how well they know how to diagram a sentence or do equations made for rocket scientists. I'm just sayin. ;D