Weekly Wrap Up - Week 7

We have had a very busy week, and on most days we didn't start school till 10 or 11.  That being said, they have kept up with their school work, which makes me very happy :)

Bible
Both girls are still working on their memory verses.  They are following Do Not Depart's Hiding 1 Peter 1 in My Heart.  They are a few verses behind, but still working on it.  I love that they are memorizing a whole chapter and can recall it when they need it.
My youngest is doing bible with Notgrass' Uncle Sam and You.
Molly is working on the I am Kept bible study from Lara Williams and Katie Orr.  She will be starting Notgrass in November, and do bible with it.

Math

Two weeks age we switched to Life of Fred, and the girls love it.  They use to hate math and put it off till last unless i told them otherwise.  Now there is no problem; they look forward to the lessons.  They both made a 90 on their first test and are moving along.

Literature
Baylee is doing literature with Notgrass, and I really like it so far.  I think she does to.  It has a little more writing than what we where doing, but that's a good thing.  My older daughter doesn't want to write at all.  She would love it if I could find a curriculum with NO PAPERS.  She hates it so much that she just got a 0 because she waited to long and didn't finish one.  UGH!!!
I try to tell her she is going to have to write in college, but what do I know?  She is using Excellence in Literature for a few more weeks then she will start using Notgrass.

History
Baylee really likes Uncle Sam and You.  We are finishing up our first week, and it's just the right amount of  work.  There are not to many activities to make her feel overwhelmed.  The Find This! and Picture This! activities are wonderful.
Molly is finishing up Abeka's World History and will start Notgrass in November.

Science
Baylee is working in the BJU Earth and Space textbook.  I think she is just trying to get through it; not really interested.  I am thinking about changing her to Apologia's General Science.  They have a new student notebook, and I think she would love it.
Molly is finishing up with chapter 2 in Science Shepherd's Biology.  I really like this book.  I think we will like it even more once we start the labs and using the lab DVD.

Spanish
Molly is using Rosetta Stone's Spanish.  I am not ure how well I like it.  She loves it.  I went to public school, and that is not the way I "learned" it. (Which I can't hardly understand a word of it now)  I understand the concept; I just hope it's enough for high school credit.


On a side note:  After being married for over 17 years, I finally changed my last name this week.  I know that's hilarious, isn't it?

This is a picture of us waiting at the Social Security office.  Molly said, "Mom if you had done this when you got married, we wouldn't be in this situation now."  LoL She didn't like having to wait.  We were trying to look unhappy, but it was just so funny.

They did get to eat some of their favorite ice cream though.

 I love my family, and I am so glad that I get to be with them.

Weekly Wrap Up - Week 6

I feel so out of the loop the last few weeks.  I have not been very active with the girl's school work.  I know they are older, and I don't have to help as much.  Things have just been a little off scheduled, and I don't want us to end up like last year. 

That was the start of  a post from a few weeks ago that never got posted.

This week has been so much better.  We had a field trip Monday to the Chattanooga Aquarium.

We had a really great time with family and friends.

Baylee is trying to look smart in this one.

I laid down the law Tuesday, and it has been smooth sailing since then.  I have had to stick to what I said, but the girls know the rules.  No TV or "fun reading" until school is done for the day.

We started Life of Fred last week and they love it.  I was going to try to do a chapter in it then switch back to Saxon and do a chapter in it.  But the girls love Fred and do not want to go back to Saxon.  So we are sticking with Life of Fred.  They actual look forward to doing math, and they enjoy it.  That is something we have never had.

My 10th grader has started her Biology from Shepherd Science.  She has completed chapter one, and is really doing well.  I love the layout of the book, the parent guide, and that it has a lab DVD.  

I use the parent guide outline as lecture notes.  So when she is done reading the chapter, I give a little lecture following the outline, and she takes notes.  I want her to be able to do that in college, and I really love that Shepherd Science is giving us that opportunity.  In the past, I would not know what topics to pull out for her to take notes on. I wish I had this for the other subjects to.

My "baby" is still working in her Trail Guide to Learning.  I really don't think it is at her level, so we are going to change to Notgrass' America the Beautiful when she is done with this Unit.  I think the Trail Guide would be great for elementary students, but she is in middle school.

To get back to the Weekly Wrap Up just click here.

Kept - Week 1

 I am "trying" to do hellomornings.  This week has not gone as I had planned, but when does it?  We have definitely improved, but we are not where I want us to be.

My girls are doing the Kept: 1 Peter Bible Study with me.  I think it will be a great experience for all of us.


I was surprised when I read how Peter acted right after Jesus' death.  One of my girls was touched by how Peter WEPT after he realized what he had done, and Jesus was right and knew all along.

Reading the verses in Acts really touched me and opened my eyes.  When they replied, "Which is right in God's eyes: to listen to you or him," made me realize that I pay attention to much to what people think and not enough to what Jesus would think.

I think we get so burden down with the cares of life that we lose sight of what really is important: serving Jesus.

Our First Week Back

Our first week back went pretty good.  We still have to work on getting up a littler earlier.  

Baylee is loving the Trail Guide to Learning, Paths of Settlement Guide.  It was a great switch for us.  She can just read each days lesson, nothing complicated, no switching back and forth.

We are supplementing some science.  The guide only has it two days a week, so we are adding BJU Space and Earth the other 3 days.

Baylee is doing Algebra 1/2, and this week was really easy for her.  Granted it is just review, but it made for an easy week.
Her had writing has improved a lot.

Molly is finishing up her BJU World History, Algebra 2, and Excellence in Literature.  She is starting BJU Biology and Rosetta Stone Spanish.  I still have to find an American History curriculum (that we will start in October).
She is also doing typing at www.typingweb.com (It's Free)

These are the bible verses we are learning this week with Hiding His Word from Do Not Depart.  The neat design is from IntentionalMe.  We are also doing the Kept: 1 Peter bible study from Savoring Living Water.

I am not a picture person.  I am going to have to remember to take pictures, and write a more detailed description of our week.

Hello Mornings - Keep it Simple

In Kat's post today, she said keep it simple.  Its even in the Title.  I have tried Hellomornings in the past, and I have not been able to stick with it.  But I think that is because I made it to hard, or if I didn't do something right one day I would just give up. 

So this time I am going to take Kat's advise and Keep It Simple.

1. I will be doing the bible study with Do Not Depart.
2. I want to exercise every morning.
3. And this one might seem a little silly, but I want to make by bed every morning.  It seems like that never gets done on a regular basis.

2012-2013 Curriculum

So here is what we are using for Middle School

We will be using Trail Guide to Learning, Paths of Settlement this year.  This curriculum includes every subject except math.  There are 8-9 sections to be completed every day, they are:  Copywork & Dictation, Reader, Read Aloud, Language Skills, History/Science, States, Doing, Independent Reading, and Enrichment Activity.  I will be supplementing science, grammar, and a little more history since she is in middle school.

To read a post I wrote about my lesson planning with POS click here.

Bible:   Memorizing bible scripture and doing personal bible studies with mom.  I want the girls to learn to study the bible on their own, and not have to follow a curriculum.  I want it to be something they do for the rest of their lives.  Paths of Settlement does have a bible supplement you can buy, but I chose to do my own.

Language Arts:  She will do Analytical Grammar 3 days a week, and POS everyday.

Math:   She will be using Saxon Algebra 1/2.

Science:   2 days a week she will use Paths of Settlement, the other 3 days she will use Bob Jones Space & Earth.

I will also be supplementing with History Odyssey's Modern Times Level 2, but we will do this at a much slower rate than suggested in the lessons. 

Paths of Settlement - Lesson Planning

We are switching to Geography Matters, Paths of Settlement this year.  It almost seems to easy to believe.  The curriculum includes everything except math.  I am supplementing some science and grammar.

 We have used other curriculum plans that are similar; but they either are to extensive and complicated to follow, or they aren't involved enough.

Baylee can read the Lesson for each day in order, no flipping through pages to find out what to do.  It is self explanatory.   And the activities are just the right amount; not so much that she can't get it all done in a day.


I have highlighted the specific parts that Baylee needs to do in orange, and if she needs to do something in the Middle School Supplement I'll write it in and highlight it pink.  Of course, she needs to read it all, but the assignments I want her to do are in orange.

I wanted a "check list", something I could look at and know she had completed her assignments without flipping through the lessons.  I included her other subjects to; math, music, PE.  When she has completed an assignment she will highlight it.  So I came up with this:

We should start school August 20th, so hopefully I'll have another update on  our first week soon.


Update:
 Okay......after reading several posts on the yahoo group, I began to wonder what the Lesson in a Glance sheets were all about.  So I looked through my guide an found it.

It would save a lot of time to use this and then just have a page with our other subjects on it.  But I am not sure if I like it having every level on there, and it is not as detailed as mine. 

What do think?