Doing the Next Thing

I'm going to try the weekly reporting thing again this year, mainly for my own accountability and record, but also on the chance that someone out there is mildly interested! We had a rough week, to be honest! I posted the picture at right (taken at Cloudland Canyon while on our anniversary trip last month) because it reminds me that in our school year there will be times we are on the mountain-top and times we are in the valley. And times in between where we, with firm resolve, struggle to climb back to the top! Monday was spent organizing last-minute details for the boys' first day at Veritas Classical School, as well as getting books ready for M & A to study here at home. I hadn't run errands - or run my feet - in a while, so I ended up doing both Monday afternoon and evening, and was a little scattered and tired Tuesday as a result. The boys liked their classes and teachers, but it's going to take some time for them to adjust to the workload. S (almost 15) did a

Today was the first day we had a full school workload. We officially started Monday, but that day was mostly organizing and preparing for Tuesday - the boys' first day of classes at Veritas. So today was day 1 with assignment sheets from Veritas, plus our work at home (math & science for the big boys; all subjects for M (10yo 5th grade) & A (5yo, kindergarten.) To be honest, it wasn't really even "full" - M is taking science at an enrichment program and classes there have not officially started, though she does have some taxonomy cards and reading to work through before the first day; C's (12 yo 7th gr) math books haven't arrived (mainly b/c his mother forgot to go pick them up from the homeschool store -- oops!); and we didn't get to phonics or math with A. But still -- it was a full workday. I had a conference with each of the boys and we mapped out which assignements need to be done each day. (In the future, I hope to do that on Tuesday evening

In case you're interested: S – 9th Grade Curriculum Plan, 2009-2010 (S will be attending Veritas Classical School one day per week for humanities instruction. Their book list is copyrighted and is only available to registered students. So I can't list the books here, but trust me, they're good!) Veritas Curriculum Bible - New Testament Survey History -U . S. History American Literature English - grammar, writing, vocabulary Rhetoric / Debate Greek I (S. will also be taking an apologetics elective at a local a la carte homeschool enrichment program) Apologetics - The Quest for Truth Chris Sherrod At Home Algebra I - Elementary Algebra Harold Jacobs Physical Science - Exploring Creation with Physical Science Dr. Jay Wile Fine Arts - Appreciation: Annotated Mona Lisa Carol Strickland Young Persons Guide to Music Neil Ardley The Story of Classical Music CD by Darren Henley Various composer studies Studio arts: Various drawing exercises Guitar - weekly lesson & practice

... Shannon ! Congratulations - you are the proud new owner of Exploring God's Creation! This was a fun giveaway , and I wish I had something to mail to all of you! Thanks for visiting and commenting. If I can ever find time to blog again (with the craziness of illness, last-minute end-of-summer trips, and school starting) I look forward to making some new homeschool bloggy friends! Have a great week!

Ok, so I promised to get the Part 2 Chores post up and running the other day. But then the Chicken Pox decided to visit our house and I've been a little distracted. So blogging is on the back burner for now, but stay tuned.... (and thanks for understanding!) *Note to the curious... yes my children received the vaccine. But 10yo M has a rare blood disorder and she just marches to the beat of her own drummer, medically speaking. =)

*******Update: the Giveaway is over. Go here to see the winner! Have a great year, everybody! Jolanthe at Homeschool Creations is sponsoring a Curriculum Cleanout. Now through August 15, lots of great resources will be recycled through giveaways. Have something that needs a new home? Need a few items to round out your curriculum? Then check out this great blog carnival that grows daily! My giveaway is for Exploring God's Creation Science workbook from Christian Liberty Press. First, I just want to say how much I love Christian Liberty Press! They are affordable, user-friendly, and have a solid Biblical worldview. This science workbook (we used it more as a "text") has information and activities on a range of topics in all the major areas of elementary science. It's listed in their 3rd grade materials, but we used it as a group when my kids were in 4th, 2nd, and K. (The first couple of lessons have some marks - before I got smart and photocopied the lessons.) Each cha

If you were a fly on the wall in the Next Thing house this week, you might have heard... "Can I do yogos on the map, Mom? Can't I? 3yo K asking to do yoga on the mat one morning. I had to stop laughing to say "yes." She tends to end all questions with a sweet little, lilting "can't I?" What - does she think that makes her hard to resist? She's right! K's Dictionary shaps ships -- chap stick sssip sslops -- flip flops precious -- princess Blessed Jesus to Your Name -- title of her favorite song, "Blessed Be Your Name" "I think 21 Gu*ns is the best song ever. It makes me cry." 12-going-on-13 yo C, commenting on music by Gre*en D*ay "Mom, K had to go potty at 5am and I took her." 10 yo M being a sweet big sister. She's done a good job with the middle-of-the-night potty breaks and hugs now that K has a big girl bed and shares M's room. That's some of the chatter happening around here. Go visit Mary's