A new (school) year

Every year at this time I get so excited! A new year-not on the calendar, but for school. At first I have to admit that I stress. What shall we do this year? Last year we took the plunge and totally changed our curriculum. This year, we're changing back. It was good for a while but we prefer the old way. We like the classical approach to homeschooling our girls. I especially love us all piling up on the sofa or spreading a blanket in the yard and getting to read to my girls. I like mixing the 2nd grader with the 9th grader.

So, I've purchased all the supplies for the year. I just love stocking up on colors and paper, pencils and notebooks. Grace and I organized the school room yesterday. Most of the books are back in alphabetical order. The supplies are grouped together all neat and orderly. We bought new maps and have hung them. I got a new binder for our schedule and a new day planner from SCM (I've used these for several years and they're my favorite). Today I'm actually working on our schedule-hope to be finished before next week.

Speaking of schedules, I know some people who don't use them at all. I can't imagine schooling this way. I love to have our school year mapped out. I want to know where we've started and where we're heading. I like to set goals and reach them. If I get it on paper it somehow helps me to organize my mind. I was especially happy one day when our pastor spoke of how our God is an organized God. He plans/planned things out in detail. Just look at the Bible! So....maybe it's not cleanliness that's next to Godliness, but organization! :)

You may be curious as to what we're doing this year. Ambleside Online is my absolute favorite approach to schooling. We've used it for several years. It's based on Charlotte Mason's style of teaching. My big girls are 8th and 9th grade. We'll use some books from Year 8 and some from Year 9. They'll be going to a co-op 1 day a week that will offer IEW (an incredible writing program), Apologia Biology and History (concentrating on documents from the same time period as AO)and Bible. We'll have Saxon math, Latina Christina and Rosetta Stone Spanish.

Emma who is 2nd grade will have English for the thoughtful child, Apologia Botany, All about spelling, Prima Latin, The Story of the World and Rosetta Stone Spanish. At co-op she'll do science experiments, history (Biblioplan), Bible, memory, language, chorus and logic games. I haven't chosen a math program for her yet.

I'll post our detailed schedule and the complete book list later. For now I'm in my element planning and anticipating all the fun we'll have learning together. I'm so blessed to be able to stay home and teach my children. Visit soon...there's more to come.