Homeschool - Here we go!!

Looking studious for the new year!

Where, oh, where, oh where do I start??

Last Monday was the 'official' start to our homeschooling journey. To be honest, I cannot say that it looked much different than any other week other than we are somewhat more structured. And after going much of the summer without much structure at all, it was an exciting start to begin getting into a rhythm.

I'm not sure exactly what I should post. It's almost like school happens as we have life. I almost think it's funny to write about how most of the time we're in the "school room" we're laying on the floor propped up by beanbags instead of at a row of desks, but most of the time we're not in the "school room" at all.

Something else that might surprise you, or not, is that at the kindergarten level we only "do school" for an hour a day. No 8-hour school days here. It's amazing how much time is wasted in a traditional setting. As the kids grow older, more time will be required, but then again, they will be doing more reading, researching, etc. independently.

So, I guess I'll share the rundown of what a typical day and week looks like. We 'school' on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Tuesdays we have CC (Classical Conversations) and we take Fridays off for make-up work, running errands or playdates.

7 - 7:30am- Breakfast

7:30 - 8:30 am- Get dressed/breakfast dishes/ morning devotions

8:30 - 8:45 am - Review work from previous day

9am- 10am - Reading & math for Jackson and Haviland, Bennett rests in crib
10 - 10:30 am Chores

10:30-11:30am Playtime

11:30-noon Lunch

noon-1pm Playtime

1pm-3pm Naptime for Haviland and Bennett, Quiet time for Jackson

3pm - 5:30pm Misc. (Reading/Dinner prep/Playtime/Computer time/Errands/tv time)

We joined CC this year in Cycle 3. There are three cycles and next year we will start over in Cycle 1. In Cycle 3, this is the scope we're following:

History and Geography: U.S.: 1400-Present Day and US States and Capitals

Science: Anatomy and Chemistry

Timeline: Creation to Modern America

Art: American Masters, Drawing

Music: Composers, Music Theory

English: Participles, Irregular Verb Tenses and Clauses

Latin: Translate John 1

Math: Multiplication Tables, Conversions, Geometric Formulas

Bible Memory: John 1:1-10

Character Development: The Young Peacemaker

Over a period of three years, we study either Old World History (Cycle 1), New World History (Cycle 2), or U.S. History (Cycle 3). All other subjects (geography, science, fine arts, etc...) correlate with these time periods when applicable.

The cycle is not related to grade. Sixth graders cover the same material as Kindergarteners except they are expected to do more with the material covered.

Here are a few pictures from homeschool and also a clip of Jackson reciting some of his Week 1 memory work.

And my favorite...when you gotta go, you gotta go!