We will be starting back on August 20th with a four day week, taking Friday off for our Homeschool Group's "Back to School" Beach Day.

I'm really wanting to finish up what we've been doing this year, we got behind due to me switching curriculum in October, from SL Core 4 to MFW 1850-Modern.  Then we lost more time during our move at the end of  February-beginning of March and of course time off to get settled.

We've tried to make up some of the time this summer by only taking 4 weeks off, and I'm hoping we'll be done by the end of September, but that may be just wishful thinking!

Here's our plans for the rest of August and beginning of September, I'm not putting dates by anything because something always happens and we get behind.  I've just listed what we need to do in order.

~Calvin Coolidge President sheet and bio.

~Herbert Hoover President sheet and bio.

~Story of the World ch. 26- Black Tuesday and  New Deal, complete outline and map

~FDR President sheet and bio.

~Read Aloud:  A Letter to Mrs. Roosevelt

~Read Aloud: The Great Depression

~Read Aloud: Out of the Dust

~Read Ch. 11 in DK's Children's Encyclopedia of American History (over the course of a few days)

~SOTW ch. 26 part 2- Hitler's Rise to Power, complete outline and map

~Read Only SOTW Ch. 27

~SOTW Ch. 28- The Three-War War, complete outline and map

~SOTW Ch. 28 part 2-The Holocaust

~Read Ch. 12 in Children's Encyclopedia of American History, a few pages a day

~Begin reading historical literature set during WWII, these are the books we will read:

               The Winged Watchman

               Snow Treasure

              The Little Riders

              Journey to America

              Twenty and Ten

              Escape from Warsaw

             The Cay

              Number the Stars

              Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot

~Watch 1940's House DVD's

~Harry S. Truman President sheet and bio.

~SOTW Ch. 29-The End of WWII, complete outline and map

~SOTW Ch. 29 part 2-The Atom Bomb, complete outline and map

~Read Only SOTW Ch's 30, 31, 32, 33 and 34 (not doing outlines and maps or any additional reading on these chapters because they are focusing more on non-European countries and I'm trying to focus on America and Europe's history...only to get us through quicker. 

~SOTW Ch. 25- The Cold War, The Space Race

~Read Aloud The Cold War

~Read Ch. 13 in CEOAH over the week

~Dwight D. Eisenhower President sheet and bio.

Whew, ok, that's as far ahead as I'm thinking right now.  If it takes a month, that will still be good.

The children also are doing their math, grammar, phonics and writing daily on their own. 

Zarek has taken over doing the Apologia Elem. Science-Astronomy, teaching the 3 younger children.  He is a science nut and knows much more than the book even teaches.  He started last week and Wow!  He did an awesome job!  He even thought up games for the kids to play, about the planets and the sun, they had a ball and I think he takes pride in knowing he is helping to teach them. 

We do nature study as much as we can and I try to have the children make a couple of entries a week, but sometimes that doesn't always happen.

Current events and music have been neglected this year (and most every other year)

I play classical music for the children but I need to start to do more with this, but I'm not sure if I will be able to begin those studies for our coming year.  I think we're going to be VERY busy with our Around the World year of studying geography and cultures.

Ok, that's it for tonight!