Friday, August 17, 2012

Frantic Friday

Today is whizzing by, and there is so much to do.  I have been going through the 8th grade CA standards for United States History, 1 section at a time.  I've been tracking down resources to complete each section, looking for maps, documents, biographies, and literature.  I have 2 1/2 more months to plan.  Then I need to separate it into weeks, type it all up and put it into a binder so I can access it daily to work with Annie.  I've always used a packaged curriculum in the past, so I didn't appreciate how much work goes into it.  I think I need my own research team!

I am not so much worried about Algebra, as I plan on her going at a pace she understands, not some arbitrary set of milestones.  I never liked that the teachers kept pushing on, even though more than half the class was foundering.  I would like her to really grasp the concepts before moving on.  There really is no point to going on in math if you just don't get it.  Shoot, I "passed" Geometry and Algebra 2 in high school, without understanding anything after the first quarter.  I don't want her to have the same experience.  Thankfully, I am making connections here and should have some math mentors to actually help.

I also need to set up boxes for Emma and Sarah.  Their math and science curriculum have been ordered, along with spelling/vocabulary for Emma and Annie.  We will continue with the history from last year, and take a detour for CA history, in conjunction with Emma's language arts state history project.

I have seen plenty of ideas on Pinterest for preschool bags, boxes, etc for Laura and Adam.  I need to make a list of items needed and get those set up so we will be ready to go on the 22nd.  I have Annie coming up with lunch ideas so we won't be scrambling every day.  I have the materials to make a new magnetic chalkboard for the dining room, I just need to get going.  We are also making up a new schedule for this year so we can fit in all our varied interests.

We are meeting with our teacher from the charter on Monday.  I would like to present her with a plan, requests for curriculum and vendor requests for ballet, piano, voice lessons, and anything else that we come up with.

My mind has been racing, but this is better than the apathy I was feeling earlier, when I just couldn't be bothered to plan for this school year.  It is so hard to balance between what the schools say should be covered, and what I say should be covered.  I am looking more into classical education, and don't know how to mesh that with the silly checklist from the district.  For each of the sections of US History, for example, we could spend a month reading the actual documents, forming opinions, writing from each point of view, etc.  However, we will be pushing through, just getting it done.  Why? Because Annie studied US history in 5th grade and still remembers it.  She isn't interested in it at all.  She wants to study the time period of the plague, and get deeper into it.  I am fascinated by all history, so it doesn't matter to me what we cover.
     I firmly believe it is important to study logic and reasoning.  For that reason we will continue with The Art of Argument, and then hopefully follow up with its companion book The Discovery of Deduction.  I am also planning on continuing with First Form Latin.

I am grateful to be included in a small local co-op where Annie and Emma are going to be able to learn better writing skills.  I was happy to learn that Annie's is Medieval History based lessons.  Perfect for her!  Emma's is All Things Fun and Fascinating, perfect for her.  I know they will grouse about the work, but its a great program.  They took one IEW (Institute for Excellence in Writing) class last year and their writing improved immensely.

So little to do, so much time.  Strike that.  Reverse it.  Off we go.  

2 comments:

Helen & Bill said...

So...welcome to the new school year!
Enjoy!

Rhonda Stuart said...

Sound like you will have an awesome year! We are starting just after Labor Day and its coming all to soon for me as I have a ton of stuff to get organized and ready for that day. I am using our first week to set up school her though a transition from Summer to School. I have started blogging again. And hope to post more about our school year this week, and to finish all my canning as the green beans and peaches just had to be ready at the same time. lol I sure do miss you guys!