New School Year is about to BEGIN!!!

This coming Monday is going to be the first day of school at Smith Academy(our homeschool name). The past couple of weeks I have been planning and organizing, just not homeschool stuff but household stuff also. I have my menus planned for the next couple of weeks, routine printed out, school lesson plans for the next 2 months, etc. It is a lot of work, but I love the organization part of it. (OCD!!!) I have a 3-ring binder with 10 pocket dividers that is full of everything important to keep this household organized! You should see it!

I have several goals that I hope to accomplish this school year with my kids. Ashton will be entering the 8th grade and Brayden will be starting Preschool. This might be the last year to homeschool Ashton depending if we move into a better school district. I have really enjoyed having my sweet daughter home with me for the past 2 years. I plan to homeschool Brayden all the way through middle school and then we will figure what we plan to do about high school. I want to give my kids the decision to go to public school or homeschool during high school. I feel like they will have a strong Bibical foundation and shine like a light into this secular world. Of course if I made the choice I would want them to homeschool all the way through. I have really enjoyed the experiences and joy of watching my kids learn.

We have changed curriculum for Ashton. We used Bob Jones, but I feel like it has been boring and not challenging for her. So, I have done my research and this is what we are using:

Algebra I- Teaching Textbooks

Physical Science- Apologia w/a co-op lab

Bible-SOS (Switched on Schoolhouse)

History-SOS

Language Arts- SOS

Ashton is a very fast learner and speed reader(definitely gets that from her dad). She is very strong in Math, so she completed Pre-Algebra in 7th grade and plans to get high school credit for Algebra she takes this year. For science, I am glad we changed to Apologia which is a Bible based curriculum. She will be doing the experiments with a co-op that we signed up with. They will be doing weekly labs and are required to keep a journal recording their data. This will also carry over as a high school credit. I hope I made a good decision on using SOS for her other 3 courses. It is a computer-based curriculum which is really neat. I will be posting in a couple of weeks how it is working out. One goal I have for her to get her ready for high school and college is to work on a research project. We will start at the basics of note taking, summarizing, and gradually work towards researching and getting our ideas together and put down on paper. Please pray for both of us during this since this is not something Ashton nor I like to do. I feel like it will be very beneficial for her in the end though.

For extra-curricular activities, Ashton has decided to play softball for MHEA (Memphis-based Homeschool Education Association). Their season begins in January, but they have already starting practicing 3 days a week plus about 3 tournaments are scheduled before the season starts. On top of that, she will be playing soccer for a church team.

Brayden is a totally different than Ashton. He learns different than her. I have been reading books from the library trying to learn how to teach him the best. He is a kinesthetic learner. That is when a person learns not by visual or audial, but hands on learning. He does not sit still for very long. He is not into coloring, writing. He rather go play outside all day if he could. He is a very active little boy! He keeps me on my toes. I did not buy a particular curriculum for him. I have found several books that have tons of ideas how to teach kinesthetic learners. Mostly games and hands-on projects to work on together. I plan to start the school year on his motor skills and gradually work him to want to write. Luckily, Ashton's work will be mostly independent work and I will have more time to work with Brayden. I have also decided to put Brayden into a local Preschool for 2 half days a week. This will give Ashton and I time to work on things that she needs help on such as her research project.

I hope to blog more this school year so I can look back and see what we have accomplished through out the year. I will be documenting our learning experiences, field trips and tons of photos of us having fun!

Be sure to check back! Monday I will let you know how our 1st day of 8th grade and preschool went! Until then...

Christy