The kids want hs'ing to be "more school-like." Hmm. I know that the one thing they DO like about public school is the structure. They love knowing exactly what they're going to be doing every day and at what time (not really my strength in previous hs'ing years!).

And now that we have a dedicated schoolroom, maybe I'll give this a try. It will involve a lot of planning ahead of time for me to stay on track. We'll see if it works...

Some ideas:

* weather station - a log book by the window; thermometer outside; rain gauge outside

* listening station - tape recorder w/ headphones. The question is whether I could find enough books on tape at the library that would suit.

* computer station - this would be good for one kid when I'm working w/ the other. I don't think I'll have internet -- maybe just load our learning games onto our spare laptop

* Corinne's vocabulary - in school this year, they do spelling. Most of the words she can already spell (I've; laugh; station, etc). I'm thinking of racheting up her spelling with really tough words next year (lugubrious, virago, fiesty). I'll take a page from her teacher: Monday would be write the word, look it up in dictionary and write meaning. Tuesday, write it in a sentence. Wednesday, write it in "stairs." Thursday, write it three times. Friday, test by first writing the word then writing its definition. I'd limit her list to 5-8 words at first.

   Somewhere (maybe on one of the great blogs here!) I was reading how kids' vocabularies are just dismal, compared with 90 years ago. Someone had a McGuffy reader from 1915, where the 4th-grade spelling words were amazing - I'd never even heard of a couple of them. I'd also like to start work on the Latin roots.

  Any other suggestions? I need to keep thinking. Wish I had a computer in the shower --- that's where I get my best ideas!