A new school year is about to begin, and I'm smack-dab in the middle of my annual nervous breakdown. I never feel prepared enough, or organized enough. Of course, things always seem to work out just fine, but I've learned from experience that lots of pre-planning spares me headaches later on. (Links to all sorts of great, free planning pages and organizing ideas can be found on my "Organized Homeschooler" Pinterest board. How did I manage before Pinterest?!)
We didn't get as much done over the summer as we normally would have; reading was the only subject that we continued nonstop. In addition to swimming lessons, karate, and ju jitsu, the boys both took classes offered by our school district. The past couple months have been very busy! This means we aren't exactly where I'd planned to be by this time, but the boys had a fantastic summer and it's well worth it to be a little "behind".
I'm still in the process of purchasing materials for the year, but here are a few things I've picked up so far:
Writing through the verses- helping students with handwriting skills!
Hunter really needs to work on his handwriting. I've tried to avoid copywork as much as possible because of the bore factor, but he really needs the extra practice. This packet combines handwriting practice with Bible memory work. It's so cute, and I got it on TeachersPayTeachers.com for only $3.50!
Aesop's Fables, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
I love this version of Aesop's Fables; it's going to be the main text for our fables study later in the year. Most of the others we'll probably get from the library.
I love this version of Aesop's Fables; it's going to be the main text for our fables study later in the year. Most of the others we'll probably get from the library.
One thing we'll be learning about this year is magnets! There are two horseshoe magnets, a bar magnet, a tube of iron filings, and a tube of small steel pieces in this kit. Along with some random household items for experimentation, this should be pretty much all we need in terms of hardware!
I have exactly one week to get stuff done before we leave for our family vacation. (If you could see how much I still have left to do . . . did I mention the nervous breakdown?) I'll try to keep you updated as my plans come together and our school year kicks off!
