Another School Year

Oh this summer has been full. My goodness! And my absence was intentional at first but then turned into the blog being put on the backburner. I mean, seriously, I've got a million things to do! I thought about closing it down altogether. But then I remember how much I really genuinely love writing and rereading the memories. I always get a chuckle and often times I forget some of the goofy details of my life. And so I begin again on the eve of the start of our school year.

Yes, I know it's early. However, I am due with #5 September/October and intend on taking a few weeks off from school. I thought starting early would give us a jump start. Plus, the kids are actually excited to get rolling again. Yvette is for sure. Hayden thinks he likes the idea (typical boy). And Wyatt, nah. He'd just as soon stick to playing. Good think because preK doesn't start until after Labor Day. We decided to send him to St. Mary's for preK. They have a fabulous program there, the teacher is phenomenal, and since Wyatt has absolutely NO interest in school we thought maybe being forced into a "fun" school environment might light a little fire for learning. Hey, a mom can hope can't she?. Plus I like the idea of staying somewhat connected to our parish school. It really is a fantastic one and I do miss visiting with the teachers and families there.

This year's curriculum choice was not so difficult to settle on. I was so happy with how thorough most of the subjects were last year that we just stuck to the same this year with the exception of math. Math is a tough one - I've heard. We used Math-U-See last year for both Hayden and Yvette. Neither of them liked the DVD lessons or used the blocks or concepts. They just ended up doing their own thing and figuring it out. Which was dandy because I really didn't like how they presented the concepts either. This year we are going with Saxon Math. A bit more "hard core" - or so I've heard. But from what I've seen and paged through, it looks a lot like what we ended up doing last year.

I always like to see what other people are using for curriculum and how they pair things up. It's encouraging to see what works for other people.

So, the curriculum layout.....

Math: Saxon
Science: Nancy Larson Science (very excited about this)
Religion: Faith and Life
Handwriting: Zaner-Bloser
Spelling: MCP
Language: First Language Lessons
Writing/Narration/Dictation: Writing With Ease
History: Story of the World v1
Reading: long reading list

We have the full Rosetta Stone for spanish that we might start mid-year....depending. It is a full year with just what we have, although I love the idea of starting foreign language early. We'll see though.

For extra curriculars, Hayden has been in tae kwan do for a few years now and will continue that. Yvette wants to try gymnastics. If she doesn't like that she wants to do dance. And, of course, if she doesn't like that she'll probably figure out something. ;-) She knows as well as we do that a social outlet is absolutely necessary for her. We've got our round of regular playdate friends, church activities, library activities, and the like. However, she has made it crystal clear that she want to "do something". So, this year is her experimental year. One activity at a time, of course. We'll give each one a few months of commitment before moving on, IF she so chooses.

And of course there is Wyatt. PreK on MWF mornings. He is old enough to give tae kwan do a try this fall, to which he has expressed a big interest. I'm okay with that. Two kids in the same activity makes my life a whole lot easier.

And me? What about me, you ask? Well, my extracurricular will be breastfeeding a newborn, chasing after a not-quite-two-year-old, schlepping everyone around, milking goats, and in my spare time I plan on sleeping.
Okay, laugh. That's fine. I would to if I wasn't me.

Any other crazy moms out there?