Year 2, Weeks 6 and 7

     Can I just say...oops I did it again!  I forgot to sit down and write about our previous week so now I'm having to play catch-up AGAIN.  I hope this isn't a pattern.

     Week 6 brought us to the end of our California Missions study.  I'm making use of every inch of available wall space in our house so this is a picture of their maps hanging in our hallway:

     I think their favorite part was mapping the Missions.  We're planning a trip to visit as many of them as we can to get an up-close look.

     Week 7 also kicked off our first week of Classical Conversations, thus our History curriculum shifted to coincide with Cycle 3 of CC.  This CC year, I'm also a tutor and am enjoying getting my kids' feedback as I practice the lessons with them.  They let me know what works and what's fun.

     My favorite part of homeschooling?  My kids get to read books that I select and at their own pace.  When we go to the library the kids get to pick books they want to read while I select books that I've already chosen for our curriculum.  Every day they read at least one book of their choice and a book from our curriculum.  This week I accidentally returned a book that they had read but apparently wanted to read again and reference during their studies.  Another oops.  I won't do that again.  Below are picture of my kids reading away.

     Have you read The Core by Leigh Bortins?  If you haven't you should, even if you're not a homeschooler.  It gives great insight into the kinds of books your kids should be reading and the levels they should be reading at to increase their vocabulary and comprehension.  See that book my daughter is reading?  It's for grades 3-7.  A very wide range, but my daughter is only 6 (technically a first grader) and is able to read and understand it.  I thank God for blessing me with another voracious reader in the family!

     That's it for now.  Hopefully, I won't forget Week 8.

Year 2, Week 1

     That title is a work in progress.  Since I'm homeschooling both kids this year I can't call it "Kindergarten, Week what-have-you" because my kids are in different grades.  For now I'll just call it "Year 2".

     Our first week started out slowly, trying to ease our way into the schedule.  We had to adjust to the puppy as well.  Frequent puppy "potty breaks" were timed to give the kids a break from learning, without being too much of distraction.  That is also a work in progress.

     Other than that, the kids are enjoying themselves.  We're studying the California Missions this summer and mapping them as well:

     They drew out California (with the help of The Principal) and I hung their pieces on a wall.  On Friday I printed out labels for them to stick on the right place.  We're studying them in the order of their founding and the kids get to see how far each mission is away from the other.  So far, we've studied the first three missions.  I'll post pictures of their maps toward the conclusion of our studies.

     We're also reading The Wizard of Oz.  Now, I read this to the kids just a few months ago, but our Language Arts curriculum begins with this book and my kids don't mind hearing it, again.  The good news (and the reason I chose this particular curriculum) is that we get to read some great classics later on.  I can't wait!

     That about wraps it up.  Oh, wait!  I have some exciting news!  In a previous post I mentioned that I had been asked to be a Classical Conversations tutor.  I didn't say whether or not I had accepted, since I wanted to get more information and The Principal and I wanted to pray about it.  I'm happy to announce that I will be leading one of the classes for the 2014-2015 school year.  I feel honored and blessed that our Director asked me to assist is this growing homeschooling community.  Praise be to God!